SH Blog: David Lee does a Willis Reed; Flip Saunders returns to Wolves

Last night, the Nets held off the Bulls to extend their first-round series to Game 7. The Bulls, though, were without Luol Deng, who was suffering from illness. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports: “Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng underwent a spinal tap to test for viral meningitis, a person with the knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about Deng’s health. The test came back negative, and Deng arrived at United Center Thursday in hopes of playing. He was not feeling well enough to play and was sent home about 90 minutes before tip-off, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. … Deng, who had the test Wednesday, wasn’t the only ailing Bulls player. Forward Taj Gibson and guard Nate Robinson were also hampered by flu-like symptoms in the Brooklyn Nets’ 95-92 victory in Game 6 on Thursday.”

In tonight’s games, the Knicks are looking to finally shut the door on the Celtics after two consecutive losses have turned what looked like a sweep into a series where there is now little room for error. Marc Berman of the New York Post writes that the Knicks need some big performances from two of their best players tonight: “Anthony is coming off two straight clunkers and Smith became the goat of Game 5 when he returned from a one-game suspension and started 0-for-10. He didn’t make a field goal until the final two minutes and finished 3 of 14. If their superstar and Sixth Man of the Year don’t play to their roles, the Knicks could become baked beans. Anthony is battling a sore left shoulder after getting tugged at by Kevin Garnett in the fourth quarter. He needed treatment yesterday. Smith simply was fighting the shooting yips. “I don’t know what’s in J.R.’s head,’’ Woodson said when asked if Smith was pressing. “He didn’t have a J.R.-like game. We got to hope that’s behind us. And he’s got to be ready to come out and give us a J.R. game. J.R. struggled. He missed his first 10 shots. We haven’t seen that all season out of J.R. I’m hoping that’s not going to be the case [tonight].’’ The Knicks haven’t scored more than 90 points in the series. Anthony, who has lost in the first round eight of his nine seasons in the league, is shooting 39.4 percent. He’s a combined 18 of 59 in the last two games — 0-for-12 from 3-point land. “He’s had a couple of bad games,’’ Woodson said. “He had three good games when we won three in a row. It’s playoff basketball. It happens. I’m not making excuses. I’m expecting him to have a big-game [tonight]. He and J.R. both.’’

Potential lottery pick Alex Len of Maryland had surgery to stabilize stress fracture in his ankle and will be out 4-6 months, his agent says

In non-playoff news, the Bobcats have some names in their coaching search, writes the Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell: “The list of known candidates for the Charlotte Bobcats head-coaching job is at five and probably growing. Various news sources have identified four current NBA assistants, plus Shelby native Alvin Gentry, who has been a head coach with four NBA teams. The assistants (in alphabetical order): Jeff Hornacek (Utah Jazz), Kelvin Sampson (Houston Rockets), Nate Tibbetts (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Elston Turner (most recently with the Phoenix Suns).”

A good friend of Stan Van Gundy's said he'd be "very surprised' if Van Gundy wound up in Milwaukee. "It's not what he's looking for."

Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune conducted an interview with outgoing Wolves’ GM David Kahn that is absolutely worth your time. Here’s a snippet: “Q. What are your emotions, reactions? Did it catch you by surprise? A. A little bit. I would say a mixture of disappointment, sadness and frankly a little bit of relief. Q. Why relief? A. I’ve been in a lot of hospital rooms the last 14 months. This has been an unbelievable challenge, the injuries we’ve had, starting with Ricky (Rubio) that night in March (2012), it just never stopped. And then when Rick’s wife took ill and he had to miss some time, you just never anticipate living your life this way where you’re constantly receiving bad news: Players missing time, coach missing time. It was just a really hard last 14 or so months.”

#Timberwolves Flip Saunders on Rick Adelman: "He's our coach. I do expect him to be back."

There have been some strange court cases involving NBA players in the past, and it’s time to add one to the list: Kobe Bryant vs. his mom. Jane M. Von Bergen of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes: “For years, Pamela Bryant kept asking her son: Do you still want all this stuff that I’m keeping for you – your old basketball jerseys, your sports awards, your high school trophies? And for years, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Camden on Thursday, the son, now 34, was content to let it all sit around at the house. … Until Pamela Bryant, Kobe Bryant’s mother, wanted to auction it off for an expected $1.5 million so she could use the money to buy a house in Nevada. That’s when the Los Angeles Lakers shooting star (and Lower Merion High School basketball phenomenon) put the brakes on the idea, sending a cease-and-desist letter to the auctioneer, Goldin Auctions L.L.C. of West Berlin. The 42 items of merchandise, which include several Lower Merion uniforms worn by the player and two 2000 Lakers Championship rings designed for his parents, were to go up for auction in June, each authenticated as genuine by Pamela Bryant.”

According to sources, Kobe has given his parents "millions of dollars in financial assistance" throughout his 17-year NBA career